Purple Tang DEAD!!

[StripesTheEel]

Hi everyone,

Im not in the bests of moods so early this morning. My mum woke me up and said hey matt your purple tangs dead.. so i get up thinking shes probably mistaken as she tends to think my blue tang is always dead and hey.. its dead alright..

so i automatically check all parameters and they stand at:

ammonia - big fat 0
nitrate- 0
nitrite - 0
calc - 400
ph - 8.3

those r the only tests i did as i dont think any other was necessary..

i dont know what the heck happened!!

its just so annoying i havent lost a fish in over 8 months..

i wish i lived near hawaii purple tangs arent cheap in australia..

i paid $160!!!!!

* the only thing i have changed of late is feeding.. from twice a day to once a day..

could this have been it..? all other fish are fine..

when i pulled the fish out of the tank there was no evidence of physical deformities or injuries...

i hate the saltwater game sometimes i really do..

 

[Hara]

once again, if I understand your profile, you have 17 fish in a tank that is under 100 gallons. 4 of them listed are tangs. it is not switching from twice to once a day. Alot of people only feed every other day or twice a week and their fish do not starve to death. Was this fish getting its vegetables? Did you notice any harassment from the other fish? If they were harassing it, you might not see injuries, it could have just been the stress. How long have you had this fish? Any new additions lately?

 

[StripesTheEel]

Sorry Hara,

My profile is not as updated as it should be.

Chromis - all eaten by blue tang
Sailfin Tang, Emperor Angel, and 2 damsels moved to QT for 100gal.

vegetable wise - normal feeding food contained marine green
nori was left on clips
and twice a week food was soaked in garlic supplement.

had the purple tang for about 5 months..

he was the last addition to the tank..

 

[Hara]

please list all fish in the tank now. I am still thinking it is a crowding problem. Think of it in this scenario....
you have a three bedroom house. Holidays come and 10 relatives come for a visit. Everyone eats well, stuffed like the holiday goose. The little kids are playing video games, the adults are talking at the table, the teenage girls have camped out in a bedroom to talk and giggle and the guys are in a bedroom talking about cars and the girls. Grandpa is napping in the last bedroom....first day everything is cool..no worries. Second day, the girls constant giggling is getting to you and you have a little cousin driving you nuts. All you want is some peace and quiet. You try each of the bedrooms, people are in them, you try everwhere you can think of. By the fourth day, you want to scream and pull your hair out.

I know this sounds like a silly story, but I think it is most similar to what our fish must go through in crowded situations. Behind every rock is another fish! They cannot get any place to call their own unless they eat someone.

It sounds like you are doing things right, the food, everything. The only thing left is a crowded tank and stressed fish. (I am assuming temperature is normal)

 

[StripesTheEel]

Temp is normal.. have never had any issues with it

My listing:

Snowflake Eel
Yellow Tang
Blue Tang
2 clowns (in anemone)
2 dwarf angels - flame and coral
cleaner wrasse

 

[StripesTheEel]

oh and a royal dotty

 

[Hara]

ok, you have the equivalent of just under an 80 gallon tank. not counting the water displacement from rocks etc, the general rule of thumb for fish would allow you approximately 15 inches of total fish. (5 inches per gallon)

Tangs, by nature, fight with each other. Usually in a much larger tank you can get away with 2-3 different kinds, but yours in not exceptionally large. Then toss in the rest of your fish in the mix and you are still way overstocked. Even if the fish are all juveniles.

 

[StripesTheEel]

What would you suggest i move to my 100gal. I would love to move my blue tang but given its proneness to ich i'd rather leave him in there.

Moving my yellow tang, he is the largest.. that should solve my problem..i hope

 

[Hara]

at this point in time, I would advise you to really closely watch your tank for aggression and let that help decide on who to move. I would suspect that the sailfin and the yellow would be at each others throats as they are the most similar in type.

maybe someone else will chime in soon with ideas for you as well, as this is all I can think of.

 

[StripesTheEel]

Thats the funny thing,

I have never seen any aggression from any tangs except my blue tang when he begun eating my chromis..

I'll monitor anyway..

So I'm assuming "heart attack" for purple tangs death?

Thanks again Hara

 

[Fluff]

I agree with Hara. I don't see anything wrong other than they sound a bit crowded and mixing that many tangs is bound to cause issues.
I would assume cause of death was stress related. As for who to move, I would move the sailfin and the blue to the 100g since they both are gonna get to large to stay where they are. The yellow would do well in the 80g. JMO though. Ultimately, the decision is yours. The way it was explained to me is......since the hippo is different in body shape, normally you can mix them with the "rounder" tangs like the yellows and sailfins. But, the sailfins, yellows, purples, etc being all the same shape will fight amongst themselves.

 

[quarryshark]

Strange, never heard of a tang eating a chromis, wow.
Agree with above, The Yellow would be OK, but that should be it as far as tangs in that system IMO.

 

[StripesTheEel]

thanks guys,

yeah try eating 14 chromis one by one, every night for two weeks.

one Q though, would a naso tang be okay with a blue?

coz it is currently in QT for the 100gal..

 

[Fluff]

Wow, a naso too? You really need to slow down on the tangs.
In that case, I'd stick with your plans to put the naso and sailfin in the 100g and leave the blue in the 80g with the yellow.

 

[StripesTheEel]

The tangs are the only fish that really appeal to me... well them and eels..

is it the fact the blue and naso will be aggressive towards each other or that would just crowd the tank..? because if so.. i'd rather give the blue more space and give the sailfin to a friend, as he is looking to start a 80gal..

 

[haus]

Aren't purple tangs, yellow tangs, and sailfin tangs all about the same size and shape?? It is my understanding that the more similarities between fish, the more they dislike eachother, and in turn would cause a stress problem. I'm not really the one to preach here because I have a yellow tang and a regal tang in a 55 gal, but they seem to get along. Always at opposite sides of the tank, except for feeding time. My regal tang is only about an inch and a half now and he kind of picks on the yellow tang (about 3 inches) from time to time.

 

[quarryshark]

My regal tang is only about an inch and a half now and he kind of picks on the yellow tang (about 3 inches) from time to time.

Your problems will be later down the line. The Yellow can/will get 6-7" long and the Regal can get to 10"s.
for those 2 tangs to be housed togther, a serious upgrade in size will be needed down the road. Not only for aggression, but for bioload problems.

 

[Fluff]

Sailfins can get up to 15" and would outgrow an 80g tank. Not over night but, eventually. Just a FYI. You could try to keep them together. Just watch for any signs of aggression.

 

[haus]

Upgrades are coming, I'm thinking between a 110 gal to a 150 gal. How fast do they grow?

 

[quarryshark]

It will take a couple years, larger tank and good nutrition will help their growth.